RICHMOND – In recent years, Loudoun County has faced public controversies over water protection and hospital construction, arguments over school funding and economic development, and budget cuts and tax increases in local government.
Delegate J. Randall “Randy” Minchew of Leesburg, who was sworn in Sunday, hopes to address those issues as a member of the Virginia General Assembly.
Minchew, a Republican, represents the redrawn 10th House District, which includes parts of Loudoun (including Leesburg and parts of Ashburn), Clark and Frederick counties. He won the open seat in November against Democrat Dave Butler by taking 58 percent of the votes.
The 10th District had been located in southwestern Virginia and was represented by Delegate Ward Armstrong, D-Martinsville. During the legislative redistricting process that followed the 2010 census, the district was moved to fast-growing Northern Virginia.
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Minchew, 54, has lived and worked Loudoun County for nearly 20 years. He has been active in local GOP politics: as a precinct chairman, as chairman of the county’s Republican committee and as a delegate to his party’s national conventions in 2004 and 2008.
“I actually have a really close relationship with Gov. Bob McDonnell. In 2010, I was appointed by Gov. McDonnell as his deputy counselor and adviser. It was a real honor to be chosen for this position,” Minchew said.
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Minchew also was a founding member and two-term chairman of the Loudoun County Economic Development Commission as well as a founding member and chairman of the Rural Economic Development Task Force. He takes pride in the task force’s plan to boost the economic base of rural Loudoun County.
“I want to strengthen our rural economy,” Minchew said. “Wine industries have really taken off. About 31 wineries in Loudoun County have developed, so we will be sending Loudoun County wines to China. If wineries are doing well, everyone benefits with open area and job opportunities.”
While Minchew was a member of the board of directors of the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce, he consistently advocated for public policies that he said would create jobs, preserve a favorable business climate and improve transportation.
He also addressed local issues while serving on the Loudoun County Finance Board, the Citizens’ Tax Equity Committee and the Loudoun Judicial Center Task Force.
“Gov. McDonnell wants to preserve 400,000 acres of land. So in order to help that, I am patroning 25 different bills relating to open space preservation to encourage landowners to leave open space, which will result in tax benefits,” Minchew said.
He also is sponsoring a transportation bill to fund projects such as road construction and pothole repairs. He also plans to introduced into Maryland at Route 28.
Minchew graduated from Duke University in 1980 with a degree in public policy. He then took a position with the district attorney’s office in North Carolina.
Eventually, he returned to Virginia to study law at Washington & Lee University in Lexington. He received his law degree in 1984.
He received an appointment as a law clerk to A. Christian Compton, justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia in Richmond.
Besides serving as a state legislator and working as an attorney, Minchew takes great pride in being a Scoutmaster for the Leesburg Boy Scouts. He and his Scouts have won many honors, including the Silver Beaver and All Star Troop award at the National Scouting Gymboree.
“Helping the youth of Loudoun County is a big part of my life,” Minchew said. “I feel like I have 40 different sons.”
Minchew has been married for 20 years to his wife, Teresa. With their son Jack, they live in Leesburg’s historic district in a home built in 1899.
[Virginia Commonwealth University's Capital News Service provides news from the Virginia General Assembly by student journalists at VCU and the University of Richmond.]
